That rain prevented an out and out disaster since the stadium had run out of (free) water if memory serves and it was the first year of the water bottle ban (thanks, Dave). That game reinforced my preference for cold/snow over heat.

The bigger problem is that thunderstorms are likely in the afternoon--particularly during the game (as of the current forecast)--and lightning screws up everything. It's still early so maybe we'll get lucky on timing.

The Joe site was given to FGIC as part of Detroit's bankruptcy deal. Detroit will demolish the arena and a parking garage, and FGIC will build something (currently supposed to be a hotel/office/retail space) on it.

Detroit is the largest TV market that doesn't have an MLS franchise, so they'll want a team there for the potential television draw. DCFC has also done extraordinarily well in drawing crowds despite being only four years old. The area has done enough to prove that it can support an MLS team through that alone (and the MUFC-RM game selling out definitely helped the area's image).

Also, the Metro Detroit area is still huge (between 4-5 million depending on your source). It's not like the population has dwindled enough to make a huge difference.

The new opening was at the Leppings Lane end--Duckenfield opened up an exit gate when the entrances became a dangerous bottleneck. As a result of not doing crowd control and failing to shut off the entrances to the pens when they were full, that exit gate led straight to the already overcrowded pens. The Hillsborough 30 for 30 does a fantastic job at explaining how Forest had several entrances available to them but Liverpool only had one (maybe two, can't quite remember).

Since the entrances were segregated by teams, only LFC fans died during this, as they were the only ones entering the stadium from that area. What's even more infurating is that the police control box is in line with the end where the crush happened. Extreme incompetence all around.

Your post is worded confusingly. The first paragrah makes it sound like you're blaming Liverpool fans for Hillsborough. The fans weren't mixed in the terraces like you imply--Liverpool fans were in Leppings Lane, Forest were in the Kop. If anything, it sounds more like you're describing Heysel, where Juve and LFC fans were mixed due to UEFA's stupidity.

MLS has expressely stated that they want a team in Detroit. And given that the league is now expanding to 28 teams, they have the ability to put a team there. Detroit is likely the next team added after Sacramento. St. Louis and San Antonio are the other two cities to watch here.

DCFC moved to Hamtramck in part because a) the lease at Cass Tech ran out and b) they needed more capacity given how successful the team has been. What's even more impressive is the amount of money they raised to renovate Keyworth Stadium. Link

If Detroit beats Boston in regulation, the Red Wings are automatically in. Boston could only tie Detroit on points and Detroit owns the head to head tiebreaker in ROW, which Boston can't catch in this scenario.

Both Bayern and Barca mix in homegrown talent (Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Lahm, Müller, Schweinsteiger) with the superstars they purchase, so that's one reason the hate isn't as strong. It's been years since Chelsea has produced a regular from its academy. Outside of Terry and Lampard, I can't remember the last homegrown player they've started recently.

There can be a number of factors. I picked Bayern not because they're the Yankees of German soccer, but because I a) was learning German in high school and b) Munich was the first city I went to in Europe. Since it's impossible to follow 1860 Munich (likely going to be relegated to the 3rd tier this year) Bayern it was. Throw in the fact that it's a blast to watch Bayern and that any German stadium's atmosphere blows away an EPL ground's and there you go!

I'm referring to the misspelled version being included on the considered list and the correct spelling being put on the not considered list, but if the misspelled is included solely based on the reasoning provided then who cares.

It was more of a survey. The idea was pitched to the group by the Maize Rage and The Zone, if I remember correctly. The results ended up being 2-1 or 3-1 in favor of not going official (which is exactly how it should be). Even if they inexplicably had been in favor I doubt it would have happened.

Because if I had a kid (and I don't), I could teach him (or her) a lesson using parenting skills that I would never dream of doing to another kid (i.e. I can't ground someone else's kid for a month, take away priveleges, etc.).

The Pointes also banned Poles during that time as well. I'm well over half Polish and never had a problem while growing up. People know the history, and the vast majority put it behind them because it just doesn't matter as much anymore. It is nowhere near as prevalent as it used to be. Those days are dead. Is there still a sense of entitlement? Absolutely. Are you going to be run out of town for being Jewish/Black/etc.? No.

Grosse Pointe South is fine. North has had its issues over the past few years and was never as good as South (note: I went to South so bias does play a bit of a role). It's slid backwards a bit since I left (late 2000s) but it's still a good district.

People who have worked at Michigan in the past (like Tolbert) but are no longer around still have uniquenames. For example, Hunter Lochmann still has a uniquename even though he is no longer working at Michigan. Ty Wheatley Sr. also has a uniquename, but he's listed as an alum.

I fully agree that, in the end, his intention shouldn't matter. Unfortuantely, he's driven a wedge so deep in between himself and students/alumni/fans that decisions like this are questioned almost instantly, even though they should be looked upon in a positive light. It's hard for people to overlook being misled/blown off at almost every turn and not question something like this, especially given the timing. Is it right? Not necessarily. Is it understandable? Absolutely.

Good for him. It's about time. And credit to him for finally getting that part right, even if I don't entirely believe that he did this on his own.

I will, however, shit on him for not pursuing this relationship with students in the first place. He never should have waited four years to do stuff like this. He never should have blown them off in the first place. It's too late to call this relationship "important" and not be laughed at. If it were actually important, he shouldn't have destroyed it in the first place.

See if they'd be willing to scrap the validation fee required for the student section. That should eliminate a few (or a lot) of the no shows since students can sell their tickets, and those who buy won't have to worry about paying an extra $40 or $50 in addition to the ticket.

Fine. Here. The Free Press report was full of holes, misconstrued quotes, and other irregularities (to put it nicely). The entire student body knew it and therefore didn't take it seriously. Perhaps you forgot that the old BOX house put up a sign that said "Rosenberg punches dolphins" in response to the story. Athletics never gave anyone a real reason to protest those games because everyone involved knew the article was crap.

Contrast that with the attitude of the athletic department since Brandon has taken over. The students have been treated like crap. Donors feel alienated. The only ones who seem to be happy are the athletes themselves (I don't blame them for that) and those who have an obscene amount of money to donate.

Yes, because Michigan really needs someone from the Weather Channel to create a wow experience at halftime. That's definitely going to create a good memory for everyone and make them want to come back.

Dortmund suffered a ton of injuries and slipped up enough to allow Bayern to win a lot earlier than everyone would have expected, even with that long unbeaten run. Given that Martinez is out with a torn ACL and there's no way BVB suffers another injury crisis like that, I expect it to be a lot closer this year.

I'm not going to track down the rest of it since it's likely the teams in question would be on this list. Obviously Akron, Kansas State, and Rugters are no longer (or shortly won't be) on this list. Link.

"Yes, it's taking a game away but you're ticket is still good. You just have to drive 3 hours."

Great! So the money that people spent on tickets just went up a lot more because now, in addition to the ticket they already paid for, they have to pay for gas, food, and quite possibly lodging, instead of having the game at Yost like everyone expected. That's a bait and switch. And that's bullshit.

Yes the Madrid-United match was a great way to expand the sport in the US but neither one of those teams gave up a home match to play over here. It was part of a pre-season tour and was solely marketing based.

This, on the other hand, would be fine if they hadn't ended season ticket renewals five days before announcing it. A bunch of other people have beaten that to death at this point, but that's the main problem. Factor in that you just removed one of the two best games on the home calendar and it's a huge slap in the face to everyone who bought season tickets.

4 of those 15 non-exhibition games occur during a break. The Renssalaer series is during Thanksgiving break, while the Wisconsin home series is during the first weekend of spring break. That schedule is beyond pathetic.

Detroit already has museums, an aquarium, and transportation—granted, this is the barest transportation system possible and it sucks. The DIA is a major attraction for the art scene—hence the huge fight to keep it away from a potential sell-off. The Science Center has re-opened thanks to a massive donation and is in good health. The aquarium is running again after having been closed for a number of years.

With the exception of transportation, you're targeting the wrong areas for improvement. Look at schools and blight/crime in the neighborhoods, not museums.

Let's see you invest in it then. You can do whatever you want in any number of areas.

Edit: You're not wrong, there are many more important areas that need attending to besides an arena. But there's no reason to complain about a massive development that will help spur an area that's been deslolate since at least the 1980s.

One could be suspended for the semifinals via card accumulation (which is why Thiago Silva is out), but yellow cards are reset after the quarterfinals in order to ensure that no one is suspended for the final via card accumulation.

Saying Klinsmann's style is un-American and that he should have been fired if the US had not made it out of the group stage is quite irrational. That and the fact that he's going to be doing games with Gus Johnson in 2018 is going to piss off a ton of people. Anyone who makes Gus look good on soccer broadcasts (at this point in time) should not be doing them.

The Dutch flat out failed to qualify in 2002. This led to a documentary from a couple of Dutch filmmakers creating a documentary about the two worst teams in the world at that point (Bhutan and Montserrat) called The Other Final. It's worth watching if you have a chance just to see what it's like at the low end of the FIFA rankings.

Argentina also didn't get out of the group stage in 2002. Germany, Brazil, and Mexico are the only ones to have done it in the modern format. Argentina (and I bet a few others) did it when there was a second round of group games awhile back.

The bigger question becomes whether or not those nine games are only for competitive matches. I would think that friendlies are included in that number, but not counting friendlies would be the harshest way to implement it (and probably the right one, too).

EDIT: Yanked from Liverpool's SB Nation site: The player Luis Suárez is to be suspended for nine (9) official matches. The first match of this suspension is to be served in the upcoming FIFA World Cup™ fixture between Colombia and Uruguay on 28 June 2014. The remaining match suspensions shall be served in Uruguay’s next FIFA World Cup match(es), as long as the team qualifies, and/or in the representative team’s subsequent official matches in accordance with art. 38 par. 2a) of the FDC.

· The player Luis Suárez is banned from taking part in any kind of football-related activity (administrative, sports or any other) for a period of four (4) months in accordance with art. 22 of the FDC.

· A stadium ban is pronounced against the player Luis Suárez in accordance with art. 21 of the FDC as follows: the player Luis Suárez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium during the period of the ban (point 3). The player Luis Suárez is prohibited from entering the confines of any stadium in which the representative team of Uruguay is playing while he has to serve the nine-match suspension (point 2).

To me, it looks like not only can he not appear at any related functions, but this effectively serves as a transfer ban (see the administrative bit in point 2). Well done, FIFA.

I believe that is 9 FIFA related matches. The four month ban is the part to look at, since it essentially rules him out of club matches until the end of October. That isn't a small ban. In my opinion, FIFA actually got this right.

And this isn't even early 2013 Lukaku when his confidence was shot and he missed that penalty against Bayern in the UEFA Super Cup. That loan out to Everton might have been the best thing to happen to him.

I agree with everything in the above post. Take some time to get to know him and you will probably end up liking him. He is one of the most approachable people I know and will discuss just about anything with you. Doing research with him was one of the highlights of my undergrad life at Michigan.

Which is why when CSG surveyed students last year about how to improve attendance, wifi placed last. Wifi will not solve this problem by itself, and I'm not sure how much it will actually help to be honest.

UCF just won a BCS (Fiesta) bowl, Hawaii trumps App State or Miami (NTM) any day, and Colorado at least has some name recognition. That's easily better than the three we're stuck with this year. It could be much worse, to be honest.

In almost every other group I'd say Howard is the best keeper, but Manuel Neuer is better than Howard. Without Neuer, Bayern doesn't have anywhere near as good of a season as they did this year.

That being said, Germany has a ton of injury problems right now (Lars Bender is now out with an injury) and Neuer also has a shoulder injury from the Deutsche Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund. That game is getting progressively more winnable as Germany's players continue to drop like flies.

Well when you take an unnecessary shot at the people who are helping Burke be financially responsible, don't expect much in the way of pleasantries being directed at you. So there's a connection between Burke being responsible and Joe Dumars passing over him in the draft? Big deal. Who cares. The article itself is interesting and worth a read; the subject line you posted deserves to be negged to death.

Klopp has said he won't leave BVB until 2018 and that was after Barcelona had reportedly expressed interest. Dortmund also said today that Klopp will not be leaving after this year. LVG is probably the most likely candidate for the United job.

...none of the stadiums sold out. Sun Life was 7,000 people short and that was the closest anyone came. That being said, assuming United don't finish sixth in the EPL table and have to play in the Europa League, it is quite likely this thing packs in most if not all available spots.

Other stadiums hosting games for the International Champions Cup have tickets starting at around $40 for the highest seats and going up to around $130 for field level. Obviously it could be different here given the sheer size difference from the other stadiums, but that's probably a good comparison.

They'd probably use the existing field turf but I can't imagine that the football lines will be left on the pitch. Not matter what, don't care, definitely going to this. Also, the goal posts will likely have to be removed.

1500 students is 1/3 of the number of people who bought tickets. That's not a small number. And why in the world should they have to buy regular tickets for a game for which they have already purchased a ticket?

Mine's a weird one. For the past few years, the hockey student section has sung the Canadian national anthem prior to the game in honor of the Canadians on the team. Last year, some Western grandma assumed we were being disrespectful and threatened to report us to Michigan's administration. Anyways, we got wind of it, and promptly started singing the anthem straight in her direction. Also started chanting "ugly sweater" at her, because, well, it was a god-awful sweater.

Edit: Most games involving Rico and Miami at Yost also had interesting results.

Penn State required a donation of $102 million from Terry Pegula (owner of the Buffalo Sabres) in order to build a new arena and get the program started. That does not, however, mean that hockey is a money loser overall. Michigan hockey usually turns a profit, as do a few other schools if I remember correctly. Sure, a new program would lose money for the first couple of years, but it could conceivably become profitable down the road.

And this has been mentioned countless times, but suggesting that Meyer is responsible for what Hernandez has done is complete BS and is not worthy of discussion, even if someone else wrote it. Don't post it.

The amount of money it takes to start a hockey program is insanely high. The reason B1G hockey exists at this point is PSU got a very large donation from Terry Pegula, which allowed them to construct the rink needed at start the program. Don't expect to see any expansion from hockey for a while, and if it happens, Illinois is the most likely candidate.

I actually did see the thread yesterday and was following the discussion. I just wasn't sure what else to say, figuring the headline spoke for itself. I also hoped adding "officially" to the title would have made that clear, but apparently I didn't make it clear enough.

But in fairness, the TV character was much more identifiable than the book's was, although I still was not sorry to see him go. This episode really didn't disappoint with the Red Wedding. I'm impressed.

If you're going to support Die Nationalmannschaft and attempt to speak German in the process, get it right. It's Schweinsteiger, and the entire Bayern contingent just finished winning the Treble by winning the DFB Pokal yesterday, so they're all out. The Dortmund players were offered a break after the Champions League final against Bayern and everyone took it except for Sven Bender.